 |
| Early morning at Angkor Wat |
Rach says:
In Siem Reap we stayed in the
Tropical Breeze Guesthouse which was pleasant, although the room was a bit dank and the water smelt strongly of metal. They did cook a mean chicken curry. It was a short, but dark walk to the very touristy centre with restaurants, bars, shops and markets. We were surprised to find the prices here to be some of the highest of the trip so far (around $7 for a curry and our 3 day Angkor passes cost us $80).
On our first day, we visited the Bayon temple. It was AMAZING and definitely one of the highlights of our whole trip. Even Pete could not stop taking photos of the carved faces on the towers, long hallways of door frames and fallen rocks and intricate Hindu carvings on the walls. Next, we walked along the Elephant Terrace and then I had a turn for the worse in the Terrace of the Leper King... I felt weak, sick and dizzy and had stomach pains, so we sat down for a drink and I put my head down. It was the first time on the trip that the heat had really got to me, but it was SO so hot in Cambodia. We abandoned our plans to watch the sunset from Phnom Bakeng and went back to the room. Too much sun, not enough rest and water. I felt ill all evening.
 |
| Views of the Bayon (above and below) |
Day two was a rest day. We explored the town of Siem Reap, wandered through the markets and enjoyed food and beers. We stopped by at a shop/bar run by a British man selling illegally downloaded music and films. Pete got chatting to him over a beer and found out he was a fellow raver...after discussing the good old days, the man filled his phone with old rave music free of charge. We went to a local nightclub called 'Angkor What?' in the evening.
On our second day at Angkor (third in Siem Reap), I decided it is probably one of my favourite places in the world so far and certainly on this trip. For someone who loves having adventures, I actually felt like Indiana Jones (and Pete thought Skyrim had come to life). Intrepid explorers Rach and Pete exploring the tumbledown ruins in the jungle, traversing the rockfalls...! We had no idea that the whole temple complex at Angkor was so huge and impressive - the park covers 400 sq kms. We visited Preah Khan (our joint favourite temple with the Bayon), the Baphuon, Phimeanakas and we also made it to Phnom Bakeng for the sunset, along with hundreds of other tourists.
 |
| Outside the Preah Khan temple |
 |
| The Baphuon |
 |
| The Gate of Preah Khan |
 |
| Indiana Pete and the Stairs of Doom |
 |
| View from the top of the Baphuon |
 |
| At Phimeanakas, which we stumbled upon when walking through the woods |
On the fourth day, we were picked up at 5am by our tuk-tuk driver to watch the sunrise at Angkor Wat. It was an impressive sight. However we didn't spend a great deal of time inside, as we didn't find it as interesting as the smaller temples with their hidden away nooks and crannies to explore. The main central building was also closed to tourists. By 8am it was already sweltering - we hadn't beaten the heat for long! We headed off to the 'Tomb Raider' temple Ta Prohm, which was our biggest disappointment. The temple was beautiful, but it was so packed with tourists wall-to-wall that it ruined the atmosphere and we no longer felt like intrepid explorers :-( We visited our last temple, Banteay Kdei and were back at hotel by 10.30am for a nap.
 |
| Sunrise at Angkor Wat |
 |
| Facing away from Angkor Wat |
 |
| Detail on the walls of Angkor Wat |
 |
| Tree roots growing on Ta Phrom temple |
 |
| Ta Phrom |
 |
| Ta Phrom |
 |
| Skyrim a.k.a Banteay Kdei |
 |
| Cambodian Batman needs to work on his Batmobile |
 |
| Mandatory eye and lung protectors for tuk-tuk riding |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.